The present invention relates to security seals, and in particular to an article and method for detecting tampering on a security seal, and a process for making the security seal.
Security seals are commonly used to ensure that goods or articles contained in a shipping container have not been disturbed or tampered with during transport. Historically, these security seals have been made of metal bands. However, metal seals rust or corrode, and include sharp corners and edges that can be harmful to a person using them.
Recently, plastic seals have become popular since they are more user friendly. Typically, plastic seals are designed with weak points so that they break in a visible location upon tampering. However, these plastic seals have not proven to be as secure or reliable as metal seals since the plastic seals tend to break accidentally, thus defeating their purpose. Further, many experts claim that plastic seals can be defeated by using heat or glue. For example, one type of plastic security seal includes a seal connector housing that can be overcome by using a thin pin to manipulate the pin and socket lock mechanism in the housing, then later reattaching the seal using glue and the like. Other methods to defeat plastic seals include heating the plastic seal in water to soften the seal and cause breakage in a hidden area. Thus when the seal is reassembled, the break is difficult to see or detect until the final destination is reached and the seal is removed, at which time the discovery of tampering is of little value. Further, plastic seals tend to be bulky to ship and store, and less than cost competitive in some applications.
Thus a security seal is desired to improve upon the aforementioned problems.